It was suspected that the O’Malley family — former Dodgers owners — were the front runners to buy the Padres. That suspicion has been confirmed, as Scott Miller reports that the O’Malley group — which is actually fronted by San Diego businessman Ron Fowler — has entered into an exclusive negotiation period with current owner John Moores.

Miller further reports that Fowler — who was to be a minority owner under the doomed Jeff Moorad bid — will play a much larger role in the new ownership group than previously believed. Indeed, he will be “the point man.” Also in the group: golfer Phil Mickelson.

The sale price is expected to be in the neighborhood of $800 million. Since both Fowler and O’Malley are both past owners or quasi-owners, their approval, assuming a deal is reached, should go off without a hitch.

I’m withholding judgement until we hear more about how this sale is being financed and exactly how much financial clout this group has. O’Malley, Fowler and Mickelson are nice names, but none are close to being in the Forbes 400. Once bitten, twice shy. We need an owner with some deep pockets that is willing to make an investment in the product on the field. That’s the only way to get this city excited about baseball again.